Consumer Protection

  • January 13, 2026

    OpenAI Chatbot Coached Man To Suicide, Calif. Suit Claims

    A Colorado man who confided in ChatGPT about his mental health struggles died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the chatbot turned into a "frighteningly effective suicide coach" and even composed a "suicide lullaby" for him shortly before his death, according to a lawsuit filed in California state court Monday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Starbucks Misled Patrons On Coffee Supplier Ethics, Suit Says

    Two consumers are targeting Starbucks for touting "100% Ethical Coffee Sourcing" on product labels despite reports of forced labor and other human rights violations on supplying farms around the world, according to a proposed class action launched in Washington state federal court Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    CEO Of Auto Mat Maker WeatherTech Tapped For FTC Spot

    The founder and CEO of automobile accessories-maker WeatherTech, David MacNeil, was nominated to a seat on the U.S. Federal Trade Commission by President Donald Trump, the White House announced Tuesday. 

  • January 13, 2026

    Senate Backs Bill Giving Deepfake Porn Victims Right To Sue

    The U.S. Senate on Tuesday unanimously passed bipartisan legislation that would allow individuals depicted in nonconsensual, artificial intelligence-generated, sexually explicit content to sue and recover damages, backing the bill once again after it stalled in the House in 2024.

  • January 13, 2026

    Astronomers Seek Upper C-Band Coordination With Wireless

    As the U.S. government moves toward an auction of upper C-band airwaves to wireless carriers, the nation's radio astronomers said the carriers should be required to coordinate with observatories to keep mobile services from disrupting their observations in space.

  • January 13, 2026

    DOJ Fights For May Trial Against Agri Stats

    Justice Department attorneys pushed a Minnesota federal judge in oral arguments Tuesday to let them go to trial in May on claims that Agri Stats' protein industry reports help major producers hike prices, arguing they're entitled to leapfrog private plaintiffs and the company cannot toss or winnow their allegations.

  • January 13, 2026

    PharMerica's Deal To Pay Ransomware Victims Over $5M OK'd

    A Kentucky federal judge on Monday granted preliminary approval of a nearly $5.3 million settlement between PharMerica Inc. and a proposed class of patients and employees who alleged the company failed to implement industry standard data security practices to protect their personal information from being leaked after a cyberattack.

  • January 13, 2026

    Lawmakers Eye 2-Year Delay On Hemp Ban Implementation

    A bipartisan group of Congress members led by Rep. Jim Baird, R-Ind., on Tuesday introduced a bill that would delay implementation of a national ban on most hemp products by an additional two years.

  • January 13, 2026

    State Street Owes NC Investor $650K In Crypto Refund Suit

    A North Carolina federal judge ruled that investment management firm State Street Global Advisors wrongfully withheld $650,000 from an investor who transferred cryptocurrency to a digital wallet, awarding him damages for his unjust enrichment and conversion claims, but not fees for his attorneys.

  • January 13, 2026

    Google's $30M Kids' Data Deal OK'd As Class Attys Get $9M

    The California federal judge overseeing a long-running class action accusing Google and YouTube of illegally collecting children's data for targeted advertising granted final approval Tuesday to the tech giant's $30 million settlement, including $9 million in fees for class counsel, despite her concerns that millions of apparently fraudulent settlement claims have been submitted.

  • January 13, 2026

    Tenn. Gaming Regulator's Kalshi Action Blocked For Now

    A Tennessee federal judge agreed to temporarily block state gaming regulators from taking enforcement action against Kalshi for its sports event contracts, adding another court ruling to a split pile of cases over the company's sports wagers nationwide.

  • January 13, 2026

    'America's Coffee' Doesn't Mean Made In US, Black Rifle Says

    Black Rifle Coffee has urged a California federal judge to toss claims it deceives consumers into believing its beans are harvested in the U.S., arguing the American flag and slogan "America's Coffee" on its packaging don't indicate geographic origin, but rather invoke the company's patriotic mission and support for U.S. military vets. 

  • January 13, 2026

    Gov't Didn't Allege Formula Was Contaminated, Abbott Says

    Abbott Laboratories has urged a Michigan federal judge to throw out a suit brought by the federal government over the 2022 infant formula shortage, saying the government is trying to recoup a "belated windfall" and no tainted formula left its plant's doors.

  • January 13, 2026

    5th Circ. Urged To Revive Southwest 737 Max Overcharge Suit

    Consumers have urged the Fifth Circuit to revive their claims alleging Southwest Airlines overcharged them for riskier flights on Boeing 737 Max 8 jets, saying they've asserted a classic benefit-of-the-bargain injury that gives them standing to sue.

  • January 13, 2026

    NJ Gov. Signs Bill Regulating Intoxicating Hemp Products

    New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has signed into law a bill regulating the sale of intoxicating hemp products, closing what the bill's sponsors called a loophole that allowed them to be sold without oversight.

  • January 13, 2026

    Beasley Allen Talc Work Sends 'Bad Signal,' J&J Says

    Johnson & Johnson's talc unit told a New Jersey appeals panel on Tuesday that a lower court's ruling permitting Beasley Allen Law Firm attorneys to represent plaintiffs in multicounty litigation over its talc-based baby powder "sends a very bad signal" to the state bar.

  • January 13, 2026

    FCC Told It Lacks Legal Authority For Jail Cellphone Jamming

    The Federal Communications Commission does not have the statutory power to authorize cellphone signal jamming in jails and prisons, a consumer interest group says.

  • January 13, 2026

    Hand & Stone Sent Info To Google, Meta And TikTok, Suit Says

    Spa franchise Hand & Stone has been hit with a potential class action filed by a customer claiming the chain violated her privacy rights by sending confidential health information taken from the company's website to Google, Meta and TikTok.

  • January 13, 2026

    Express Scripts Can't Impel FTC Atty Views On Insulin Makers

    A Federal Trade Commission in-house judge has denied a bid from Express Scripts to force a commission attorney to sit for a deposition to discuss an investigation into insulin manufacturers as the pharmacy benefit manager defends against the agency's insulin pricing case.

  • January 13, 2026

    Mass. Court Clears Title Insurer In Lender's Foreclosure Loss

    A title insurance company's successful effort to dissolve a previously missed $1.6 million attachment on a piece of property was all that was required to absolve it of liability to a second mortgage lender after the primary lender foreclosed, a panel of Massachusetts' intermediate-level appeals court concluded Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    Vietnamese Steel Pipe Faces 90% Antidumping Duties

    An imported stainless steel pressure pipe from a Vietnamese exporter was sold at less than fair value and faces antidumping duties over 90%, according to a U.S. Department of Commerce determination issued Tuesday.

  • January 13, 2026

    House Clears African, Haitian Trade Agreement Extensions

    The U.S. House of Representatives late Monday overwhelmingly approved two bills that would extend regional trade agreements with African nations and Haiti for three years each, with both now headed to the U.S. Senate for approval.

  • January 13, 2026

    Hemp Co. Accuses Rival Of Using Pot-Based THC, Not Hemp

    Hemp-derived cannabinoid company CCT Sciences LLC is suing a competitor in Florida federal court, alleging that despite the rival's claims of using "natural" hemp-derived THC, it instead uses illegal cannabis derivatives in its products.

  • January 13, 2026

    Jordan Card Forgery Case Just A Grading Dispute, Jury Told

    A Washington man accused of a $2 million sports and trading card scam told a Manhattan federal jury Tuesday that he was charged in a "misguided" prosecution after a dispute with the major player in the card-grading world over a Michael Jordan rookie card.

  • January 12, 2026

    Capital One's Revised $425M Rate Deal Gets Judge's Initial OK

    A Virginia federal judge Monday preliminarily approved a revised settlement with Capital One over claims the bank deceptively advertised its 360 Savings accounts, with the new deal more than doubling the value of an earlier proposed deal the judge had refused to approve.

Expert Analysis

  • What Defense Teams Must Know About PFAS Testing Methods

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    Whether testing for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances produces results meaningful for litigation depends on the validity of the sampling methodology — so effectively defending these claims requires understanding the scientific and legal implications of different PFAS testing protocols, say attorneys at Hollingsworth.

  • How Cos. Can Roll With NY's New Algorithmic Pricing Rules

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    Despite uncertainty from New York’s new ban on artificial intelligence and computer algorithms for setting rents, and efforts to further restrict individualizing prices based on consumers' personal data, property managers, software providers and merchants can take several steps to stay compliant, say attorneys at Foley & Lardner.

  • 2025 State AI Laws Expand Liability, Raise Insurance Risks

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    As 2025 nears its end, claims professionals should be aware of trends in state legislation addressing artificial intelligence use, as insurance claims based on some of these liability-expanding statutes are a certainty, say attorneys at Wiley.

  • Series

    Law School's Missed Lessons: Practical Problem Solving

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    Issue-spotting skills are well honed in law school, but practicing attorneys must also identify clients’ problems and true goals, and then be able to provide solutions, says Mary Kate Hogan at Quarles & Brady.

  • Crypto In 2025: From Federal Deregulation To State Action

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    The cryptocurrency enforcement landscape evolved in 2025, marked by federal deregulatory trends and active state attorney general enforcement, creating both opportunity and risk for businesses navigating the digital asset market, say attorneys at Cozen O'Connor.

  • How CFTC Enforcement Shifted In 2025 And What's Next

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    The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission pivoted sharply under acting Chairman Caroline Pham in 2025, resulting in a pared-back enforcement docket, sweeping policy changes intended to provide greater transparency, and a renewed focus on fraud prevention and maintaining market integrity for the CFTC's core markets, say attorneys at Moore & Van Allen.

  • Reviewing 2025's State And Federal AI Regulations

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    In light of increasing state and federal action to oversee the use of artificial intelligence, companies that develop or deploy the technology should keep abreast of current and forthcoming AI laws and consider their applicability to their business activities, says Jessica Brigman at Spencer Fane.

  • 4 Privacy Trends This Year With Lessons For Companies

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    As organizations plan for ongoing privacy law changes, 2025 trends that include a shift of activity from the federal to the state level mean companies should take an adaptive and principle-based approach to privacy programs rather than trying to memorize constantly changing laws, say attorneys at Sheppard Mullin.

  • Opinion

    A Uniform Federal Rule Would Curb Gen AI Missteps In Court

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    To address the patchwork of courts’ standing orders on generative artificial intelligence, curbing abuses and relieving the burden on judges, the federal judiciary should consider amending its civil procedure rules to require litigants to certify they’ve reviewed legal filings for accuracy, say attorneys at Shook Hardy.

  • Netflix Caps 2025 M&A Deals That Will Test Antitrust Strategy

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    The 2025 media consolidation trend culminated in Netflix's $82.7 billion Warner Bros. Discovery announcement, but the Antitrust Division of the U.S. Department of Justice is likely to question whether remedies short of blocking the deal could credibly preserve competition, says Brian Pandya at Duane Morris.

  • AG Watch: Texas Junk Fee Deal Shows Enforcement Priorities

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    Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's recent $9.5 million settlement with online travel agency website Booking Holdings for so-called junk fee practices follows a larger trend of state attorneys general who have taken similar action and demonstrates the significant penalties that can follow such allegations, say attorneys at Kelley Drye.

  • Calif. AG's No-Poach Case Reflects Tougher Antitrust Stance

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    This month, California’s attorney general resolved the latest enforcement action barring the use of no-poach agreements, underscoring an aggressive antitrust enforcement trend with significant increases in criminal and civil penalties, say attorneys at Pillsbury.

  • A Look At The Wave Of 2025 Email Marketing Suits In Wash.

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    Since the Washington Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Old Navy in April, more than 30 lawsuits have alleged that a broad range of retailers across industries sent emails that violate the Washington Commercial Electronic Mail Act, but retailers are unlikely to find clear answers yet, says Gonzalo Mon at Kelley Drye.

  • Series

    The Law Firm Merger Diaries: Integrating Practice Groups

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    Enacting unified leadership and consistent client service standards ensures law firm practice groups connect and collaborate around shared goals, turning a law firm merger into a platform for growth rather than a period of disruption, says Brian Catlett at Fennemore Craig.

  • Tapping Into Jurors' Moral Intuitions At Trial

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    Many jurors approach trials with foundational beliefs about fairness, harm and responsibility that shape how they view evidence and arguments, so attorneys must understand how to frame a case in a way that appeals to this type of moral reasoning, says Steve Wood at Courtroom Sciences.

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